Source: Clyde & Co by Patrycja Starczewska and Aleksandra Domarecka
This is the fifth article in Clyde & Co’s latest international arbitration series covering Artificial Intelligence (AI) in international arbitration. In this piece, Senior Associate Patrycja Starczewska and Associate Aleksandra Domarecka from our Warsaw office provide the legal perspective from Poland.
Arbitration is a vital mechanism for resolving disputes in Poland’s legal landscape. It seems that the next chapter in the development of arbitration proceedings is the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). Algorithms and modern tools are believed to be able to help the justice system to work faster and more efficiently.
Issues related to AI are not yet regulated in Polish legislation or case law. However, in 2020 the Polish government adopted a policy paper relating to the use of AI titled Policy for the Development of AI in Poland.1 The paper sets out general goals that need to be achieved in order to support the development of AI in Polish society, economy and science. Regretfully, it does not provide any concrete solutions for the administration of justice. Thus, for the time being, the presence and use of AI in courts, including arbitration, stem from practice rather than regulations.
The Polish arbitration system
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution explicitly recognized and regulated in the Polish Civil Procedure Code. The procedural rules apply to both domestic and international arbitration – mostly when the place of arbitration is in Poland. Overall, arbitration rules outlined in the Polish Civil Procedure Code aim to provide a flexible and efficient framework for resolving private disputes outside common courts. A vast majority of causes of action relating to economic rights and commercial transactions (including, with some limitations, employment, consumer and corporate disputes) are arbitrable.
The course of the arbitral process, including procedural rules for the appointment of arbitrators, the conduct of evidence and other proceedings leading to the arbitral award, are regulated by the institutional rules issued by arbitration centers (or in model rules applied by ad hoc tribunals). Each arbitration tribunal could therefore address issues related to the use of AI within its own institutional rules or even in procedural orders issued in individual cases – so long as the decisions do not violate generally applicable law and are not against Poland’s public order.
Read full article: https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2024/02/ai-and-arbitration-the-use-of-ai-in-the-polish-arb
